Gersten Jonker

16   Chapter 1 Translated to learning and to competence development, this would mean that a learner engages with specific tasks, receives detailed direct feedback, and has opportunities to improve the execution of the activity. This approach is analogous to the mastery learning model [56]. For the development of competence in medicine, clinical experience is key. Experiential learning, is learning elicited by authentic experiences in practice [57, 58]. Experiential learning, or its phenotype of Workplace learning, stems from the grand theory of Socio-cultural learning. This grand theory, i.e. a group of theories, holds that learning is situated in a social context and takes place in interactions between the learner and the social environment [57]. Workplace learning theory states that the quality and quantity of the participatory interactions determine the richness of learning [59]. The relation between workplace affordances and learner agency define the extent of learner participation. Workplace affordances are contextual factors that promote or hinder learner participation, such as rules of conduct, practice culture, and kinds of activities, whereas learner agency relates to the degree of proactivity and engagement [59]. Also rooted in Socio-cultural learning theory, and related toWorkplace learning theory, is the theory of Communities of practice [60], which resonates significantly with medical education [57]. From this perspective, learning is situated in a community of practice in which the learner participates. The community has a common goal and possesses the required knowledge and language to strive for this goal. The learner starts to work and learn at the periphery of the practice, while participating in and contributing to part of the work of the community; this is referred to as legitimate peripheral participation. As a result of learning, the learner moves toward the center of the community, where the qualified members are situated. At the same time, the formation of professional identity is stimulated. Both Workplace learning and Communities of practice theories emphasize that learner development is not to be left to chance, but happens best when supported by choosing and staging participatory learning activities in a curriculum. Developing from novice to expert [53], building expertise by deliberately engaging in challenging activities [55], actively participating within the social context of a community of clinical practice [59, 60], requires that a learner is supported to develop. Vygotsky, one of the founders of Socio-cultural learning theory, addressed this in the theory of the Zone of proximal development [61], which originally concerned age- related cognitive child development stages. The zone of proximal development refers